Making decisions… like your life depends on it

What if we pursued every passion we had with the same commitment and urgency we would have if our life depended on the success of our pursuit? No time for pause or procrastination, this means your life. Would more of our dreams come to reality, would the life we dream become the life we are living?

Would all the things we want to get done, actually get done?

This is the question that I have been asking myself lately. I have been doing a lot of thinking, procrastinating…avoiding. This has resulted in not a lot of actual doing and it’s really starting to piss me off! There is a raging tornado of things to do and my mind is spinning not knowing where to start.

Growing up in southern Alberta, tornadoes have always been one of my greatest fears.

I wonder if other people tackle goals for their life with the same commitment and time investment I gave to make deadlines at work?

I know I haven’t applied the same fearless commitment to make things happen in my personal life as I did at my job. I never doubted my ability to reach a goal at work or let the prospect of failure hold me back from trying new things to keep my business moving forward. That fear of failing is affecting my personal life right now, it’s been a huge frustrating distraction. Life is a journey and I believe you can be an active participant and chart your course or you can be a spectator and let life itself dictate your destination. Right now I am the latter, two weeks out from leaving and I am standing on the sidelines watching life steam roll by. So frustrating!! Arrrrrggggggg!!!

The questions started to ware me down. Here are some of mine: “Really? sell everything, cash in everything?? This could be the biggest mistake of your life. Is chasing this dream worth the risk?

Here are some questions from friends and family: “What about Mak’s education? What about a retirement plan? Healthcare? Safety? Income? Where will you live? How will you live?!” We don’t have answers for these questions, so much is unknown, even at this point. These questions are all reasons to shelf this dream and label it “What if?”. But then what…. pull it off the shelf in ten or so years to ask ourselves “WHAT IF????”. That wondering would kill me

I have asked myself, “what if it doesn’t work out?” and that question has held me back, slowing this adventure. Fear of failure is one reason people don’t put themselves out there, chase a dream, try something new. But I think it’s more than that, I think what scares me the most is the uncertainty, the not knowing what’s going to happen. I could let that question,”What if it doesn’t work out?” infect my dream and spread like a virus of negativity and kill it. I don’t want to give my fears of failure and uncertainty that power. I am fighting those fears right now with another question, “What if it does?”.

Those types of questions “What if we could?” “What if it does work out?” spurred us on to chase our travel dream like our life depended on the success of our pursuit.

The life we wanted to live that is.

We sacrificed and made decisions sometimes so afraid to make the wrong choice it felt like a gun to the head was needed to force us to commit. I read this quote early on in our planning:

“Figure out what your purpose is in life, what you really truly want to do with your time and life. Then be willing to sacrifice everything and then some to achieve it. If you are not willing to make the sacrifice, then keep searching.”

Quintina Ragnacci

This dream: to travel and unschool school Mak to give him a world perspective. To give him opportunities he could only have through the experience of traveling. To prove to ourselves, be an example to our son and an inspiration to others that you can live life on your terms, choose not to follow the crowd, chase your own dream, not the stereotypical American dream. That is my purpose. We did sacrifice and then some and the decision is made, nothing is standing in our way now, not fear of failure or uncertainty.

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About Tracey

Hello. I am glad you're here! I'm Tracey, a freelance writer who sold everything to travel the world with my Husband and our young Son. We live with less, believing travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. I love to write and share our experiences to inspire others to travel more and live the life they dream.

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Comments

So inspiring ! Thank you for sharing the Ragnacci quote. Much like yourself, my passion is travel and exploring the world. I hope one day if I am blessed with a child I can raise him or her much the way you have chosen to do with your son. I applaud your bravery and I thank you for sharing your story. Aloha

What if – you don’t go and then you look back at your life filled with what-ifs? You won’t know until you try, and here’s the great thing about trying… if it doesn’t work you can always go home again. That’s the great thing about home, there will always be someone with an open door for you. It’s the fear of the unknown that causes others to plant seeds of uncertainty. Plant your own seeds of adventure and watch them (and Mak) grow. Take the leap of faith and never look back. What’s that old saying, “It’s better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all.” Same philosophy applies. Embrace it!

Seeds of adventure indeed:) I love to garden and growing is why we are going. Thank you for your support Patti. I continue to be blown away by the caring and support we have received from people we’ve met in cyber space. I truly hope to meet you one day:)

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About Us

Hi! We're Rob, Tracey and Makai, a Canadian family who has been traveling nomadically since April 2014. Our passion is sharing what we learn about the places we visit and the challenges and rewards of living an unconventional family life. Join us on our journey! We hope our stories inspire you to travel more and strive to live life on your terms.